OUTBREAK!

Ebola virus shows no sign of slowing

'Once we no longer have any new cases ... we can say this is totally under control'

Published: 04/26/2014 at 8:57 PM

(Washington Post) Last week, officials in Guinea expressed optimism. The outbreak of Ebola that had spread into Liberia and beyond appeared to be waning. The number of deaths, which had then numbered 106, had slowed. Travel restrictions had been bolstered. The outbreak, which had sent waves of panic across West Africa, finally seemed under control.

“The number of new cases have fallen rapidly,” Rafi Diallo, a spokesman for Guinea’s health ministry, told Reuters. On the day of the interview, April 15, there were 159 confirmed or suspected cases of the disease. “Once we no longer have any new cases … we can say that this is totally under control.”

It’s eight days later. And the number of those killed by the Ebola killed in Guinea is now 136. Nearly 210 cases have been confirmed. In all, across Liberia and Guinea, 142 people have been killed — and 242 infected — in an outbreak that began months ago in the forested villages of southeast Guinea and shot to the capital city.